Crate.



a C. M. SILKNITTER & W. P. DAVIDSON.

CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1915.

l 1 9?,U7 1 PatentedSept. 5, 1916.

lnventozs Attorneys CHARLES M. SILKNITTFR AND WILLIAM 1?. DAVIDSON, 0F CENTERVILLE, IOWA.

CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that We, CHARLES M. SILK- NI'ITER and WILLIAM P. DAVIDSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Centerville, in the county of Appanoose, State of Iowa, have invented a neW and useful Crate, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to crates especially designed for use in shipping bunches of bananas, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a light but durable crate which, when set up for use, provides ample protection for a bunch of bananas placed therein and is held against collapsing as long as the crate is filled, the bottom of the crate constituting means for receiving the greater portion of the weight of the contents.

A further object is to provide a crate of this type, the bottom of which constitutes means for holding the crate against collapsing.

Another object is to provide a crate which, when not in use, can be folded into a com pact flat bundle which can be easily stored, thus materially reducing the cost of freight when returning quantities of the crates to the shipper.

A further object is to provide means whereby the crate can be readily locked in either collapsed or set up position, the same locking means being used in each instance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of What is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a top plan view of the crate set up for use, a portion of the fabric being broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the crate on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on lines CD Fig. 2. Fig. 4: is an end elevation of the crate collapsed. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the crate when collapsed.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 and 2 designate side panels and 3 designates front and rear panels of the crate. Each of the side panels consists of top and bottom cross strips 4: and a central longitudinally extending slat 5. The side panels 1 and 2 are disposed in pairs and are hingedly connected, as at 6. Each of the front and rear panels 3 includes top and bottom strips 7 connected at their centers by a slat 8. All of the slats 5 and 8 extend above and below the cross strips of the panels as shown particularly in Fig. 2.

Hingedly connected to the upper portion of the slat 8 of one of the panels 3 close to and below the cross strip 7 is a hoop 9, the hinge employed being indicated at 10. This hoop has secured to it the upper end portion of a tubular casing 11 made of burlap or other suitable fabric, the lower portion of this tubular casing being secured to a similar hoop 12 hingedly connected, as at 13, to the lower portion of the slat to which the hinge 10 is secured, this hoop 12 being located directly above the lower cross strip 7 of the panel 3. A hasp 14 is connected to the upper end of the slat S of the opposed panel 3 and is adapted, when the crate is set up for use, to engage a keeper 15 extending inwardly from the upper hoop 9, thus to lock the hoop 9 in raised position. The lower end of the tubular casing 11 is closed, as shown at 16, While the upper end thereof may be opened and then closed and secured in any suitable manner. A keeper 17 is secured upon the end of slat 8 adjacent hinge 10 and is adapted, when the crate is collapsed, to be engaged by the hasp 14:, thus to secure the parts in folded position.

When the crate is collapsed, the hoops 9 and 12 are folded toward each other and against the slat 8 to which they are hinged, thus permitting the panels 1 and 2 of each pair to fold together, as shown in Fig. 4c, the hoops 9 and 12 being housed between the panels 3 and partlybetween the panels 1 and 2. The crate-when thus folded is substantially flat, as shown. When it is desired to set up the crate for use, the panels 3 are drawn apart and the bottom hoop 12 will thus gravitate to position upon the lower cross strips 4 and 7. Hoop 9 is then raised and held by the hasp 4:, thus extending the tubular casing 11 so that the bunch of bananas to be shipped can be placed in the easing and on the closed bottom 6. As the lower ends of the several slats project below the bottom of the casing, it will be seen that when the crate is on end, this closed bottom 6 will support practically all of the weight of the contents of the crate. After the bunch of bananas has been placed in the crate, the upper portion of the casing 11 can be drawn together and fastened, whereupon the crate is ready for shipment.

7 It is to be understood that under some conditions the flexible tubular casing 11 may be dispensed with and instead a plurality of slats may be provided on each panel. In all other respects the structure would be the same as that described and shown.

What is claimed is A crate comprising hingedly connected panels each including top and bottom cross strips and a central slat connecting the middle portions of the top and bottom cross strips, the ends of the centralslat extending across and beyond said top and bottom cross strips, all of the panels being foldable to gether when collapsed to form a flat bundle, hoops hingedly connected to the central slat of one of the panels at points close to and between the cross strips thereon, a flexible tubular casing connected, near its ends, to

the respective hoops, said hoops being foldable toward each other onto the slat to which they are hingedly connected and being adjustable angularly away from each other, such outward movement being limited by the cross strips of the several panels, and means for securing the hoops in position with the flexible casing extended.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto afiixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES M. SILKNITTER. WILLIAM P. DAVIDSON.

Witnesses:

J. M. VhLsoN, P. E. WELLS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

. Washington, D. C. 

